25 must-know Gayle phrases on Beaulah: Queens van die Kaap

In the words of Todrick Hall (in the song Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels), “Girl, what did that girl just say, girl?” 

Showmax Original reality series Beaulah: Queens van die Kaap is out there teaching the children and expanding our vocabularies every week, as Cape Town’s queens bicker, laugh, fight and have a grand old time. Between the English, Afrikaans, and the Cape vernacular (like berk for boyfriend, or gahzie for the guy who closes the taxi door), you’ll hear Gayle scattered about like sequins on a dressing room floor. 

Gayle is South Africa’s home-grown slang created by and for the queer community, starting in the days when being gay and even cross-dressing were illegal. Gayle gets its name from the slang term gail (perhaps coming from regale), meaning to chat. And the slanguage keeps growing, borrowing an international drag phrase here, creating a new twist to language there. Gayle keeps the conversation sparkling with fun and silliness, with a million words for our confused emotions.

Stream Beaulah Season 1 on Showmax now. New episodes Thursdays.

We’ve picked out 25 Gayle terms from the first half of the season. Let’s meow-meow!

1. Beaulah: it’s the name of the show! (episode 1)

Beaulah means beautiful. The opposite of beaulah is hilda, which means hideous. Sorry to all Hildas out there!

2. Patsy: a party (episode 1)

This can apply to a party or celebration, or to a person. As Manila says of both himself and his drag persona, “She’s a scream. She’s always a patsy, always talking.” And when it comes to throwing a patsy, patsy queen Manila can pull off a miracle in two days. 

3. Dora: a drink (episode 1)

You can’t have a patsy, or even a pageant, without a dora. In the words of Beaulah’s premier supplier of social lubricant, Kat: “Hou die dora koud” (keep the drinks cold). Manila adds, “My favourite thing about Kat when we’re doing a show together, is when she takes out a bottle like this and puts it on the table (and says) ‘Poura die dora, sis, poura die dora.’”. A drink is a dora. Too many drinks, though, and you’re doreen. 

4. Nancy: emphatically no (episode 1)

This is a blink-and-you-miss-it word that comes up casually quite a bit through the series. When Manila, Kat and Ina are discussing whether to invite Madison to Kat’s birthday party, Manila mentions that they’re not as close to Madison as they used to be, and Kat quips “Nancy,” meaning no. After episode 5 he might say it a lot louder!

5. Gil: excited screech (episode 1)

Manila admits that he’s getting distracted while getting into drag with Ina because “ons gil gou vir mekaar” – we’re shrieking, gabbing and gossiping. In Gayle, gil is also a collective noun for a group of drag queens. A gil is a thrill, whether you’re together with friends, or feeling the love as you help younger queens prepare for a pageant. 

6. Clock: cash (episode 1)

Manila tells Ina, who has to skip out on Kat’s birthday party early to go work, “A girl needs the clock.” The term seems to come from the US, based on punching a time clock. But there’s also a connection to street dealing (referring to drug dealers working around the clock).

7. Jessica Jones: furious (episode 1)

While discussing BB and Madison’s fight at Kat’s party, Maxine comments that “BB is Jessica Jones vir (for) Madison”. In Gayle, jessica usually means insanely jealous, while a joan is a bitter gay man. But Jessica Jones seems to be a new twist based on the Marvel comics superhero private investigator heroine with a thirst for justice and vengeance. Either way, BB is plucked!

8. Kai kai: sex between drag queens (episode 2)

As Ina and Manila gossip about Maxine, Ina jokes that “Maxine is always sniping the girls,” and Manila adds, “Maxine is always ready for a kai kai”. As Manila explains, “A kai kai is when I am a sister and you’re a sister, and we’re scissor sisters. That’s a kai kai.” It’s all about drag queen hookups, and it turns out Maxine has a reputation for being up for anything … including a foursome (wait till episode five when you find out what happened between Manila and Maxine in Knysna!)

9. Robin Hood: a continuous verbal attack (episode 2)

Manila might be adding to the Gayle dictionary in episode 2 when he reports back on the party fight while chatting with Kat. “BB was throwing daggers. Not even daggers. Girl, BB was Robin Hood,” he insists, while miming firing and reloading arrows in quick succession. 

The conversation also shows us Kat giving language unique twists like shocklyn for shocked, fastlyn for fast, and pausetta for pause. 

10. Calla: check it out (episode 2)

Maxine talks about watching Emogan perform well. And she tells Emogan that at the time she turned to her friends and said, “Calla, meisie is in haar element, hoor.” (Look, that girl is in her element). Maxine slips the word in in quite a few episodes, so calla. 

11. Joshua Doore: plastic surgeon… maybe (episode 2)

Talking to Ina while they’re skating, Madison reveals that she’s just come from the surgeon (referencing her gender affirmative care) and Ina jokes that Madison has just been to Joshua Doore (referencing the South African furniture company), which also seems to be Ina’s nickname for Maxine, based on how much she pads her figure for drag. Queens often joke that someone is wearing the couch cushions, which brings us back to Joshua Doore. This might just be Ina having his own fun, but it would be a fun addition to the official Gayle dictionary.

12. Linda: lies (episode 3)

When Kat confronts Maxine about a rumour that Maxine said Kat was lying, Kat says, “You said to Ina, ‘Meisie, Kat linda. Kat’s lying’.” Oooh la la. Throughout the series a lot of people get accused of telling lindas left and right. Linda goes with stella (stealing) and all kinds of other rigga morris (another phrase that comes up courtesy of RuPaul’s Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards). 

13. Bag: boyfriend (episode 3)

BB explains that she wasn’t at Manila’s show for “personal reasons: ek was met ’n bag” (I was with a boy). Bag is short for handbag – an essential accessory for any lady on a night out. Fans of drag ballroom documentary Paris is Burning can quote by heart: “Come on now, it is a known fact that a woman do carry an evening bag at dinner time.” Yes, that was about an actual handbag, But the point stands. 

14. Bunny: male prostitute (episode 3)

While playing around on the phone, Emogan tells Jayde Kay to say goodbye, since he wants to talk to Maxine alone. Jayde claps back, “Tsek, you bunny” jokingly calling Emogan a male prostitute (tsek, of course, being short for voetsek). Shades of Mean Girls’ “Boo, you whore.”

15. Aunty: older queen; and Cindy: younger queen (episode 3)

While Emogan is talking to Maxine about arranging to meet with Madison to educate her about the history of Cape Town’s queer community, he tells Maxine that he wants to approach Madison, “Like, just as an Aunty meeting up with a Cindy.” In Gayle, a Cindy is a teen, while an Aunty is an older gay mentor.

16. Ashes: nothing; dust (episode 4)

With Emogan being a judge at the upcoming Miss Sovereign Western Cape Pageant, Ina quips, “I’m vaal about Emogan being a judge. Vaal is when you just cannot be bothered, girl. And if you really can’t be bothered, you’re asvaal. Ash. Ashes.” Vaal is Ina’s spin on the classic Gayle term, ashes. If it’s giving ashes, it’s giving dust.

17. Lulu: laugh (episode 4)

As the queens pack into a van together for a day on the beach, Maxine reveals that you can’t have a road trip or fun in the sun without Emogan because, “Sy maak ons net lulu die hele tyd” (she just makes us laugh the whole time).

18. Juju: a judge (episode 4)

While discussing Madison and Ina’s upcoming ball, Kat claims, “Ek is ’n juju”, meaning that at this stage of his career, he’s a judge by nature, not a contestant. But a juju is a judge for fun things, not to be confused with Jennifer Justice, who you stand in front of in a court when you run afoul of Betty Bangles and the jangly arm of the law.

19. Nellie: nervous (episode 4)

Just before the ball, Maxine checks in with the others who are planning to strut the runway: “How do you feel, are you nellie? Are you confident?” Meet our old frenemy, who comes to visit when you’re about to do anything daring – Nervous Nellie. The term dates back over 100 years, and was first seen in print in 1925! But as Manila points out, being nellie is normal, “Nancy! If you don’t feel nervous about something, then you don’t have passion for it anymore.”

20. Mugabe: exhausted (episode 5)

Chatting about how tired they are after the ball, Maxine and her drag daughter use the word moegabe/Mugabe, meaning tired (moeg) or fatigued. Perhaps it’s a reference to former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe claiming he was tired and wanted to retire!

21. Sheila: dreadful – to put it politely (episode 5)

During her photoshoot, Maxine looks at the untouched shots and complains that in one frame she looks “Sheila”. Oh dear. Oh well. If it’s a sheila, the best thing to do is to flush it. Again, apologies to all the innocent Sheilas out there. 

22. Milly: dizzy, crazy, nutty (episode 5)

When Maxine talks about the behind-the-scenes bustle and panic for the Miss Sovereign Western Cape Pageant she quips, “The girls is milly. They’re all over the place”. Imagine a zoo, with all the cage doors open at the same time. It’s a circus and a stampede. 

23. Clarence: over it (episode 5)

How is seasoned pageant queen Kat feeling before the Miss Sovereign Pageant? His  judges haven’t even arrived yet, so let him tell you, “My nellies is clarence. Nellies are nerves, and clarence means finished.” Kat is on the ropes. 

24. Debbie: slain dead (episode 5)

Emogan is gagged by BB’s butterfly coming out of the cocoon moment during the Miss Sovereign Pageant, which sees her walking the runway in a jaw-dropping monarch butterfly gown (designed and made by Manila). Emogan exclaims, “Dood! Debbie! . ..Call the ambulance, The show is klaar (over)” Emogan is debbie, slain by the power of the serve. 

25. Winnie Madikizela/Mandela: winner (episode 5)

“Winnie Madikizela!” Ina proclaims, proudly popping his pageant crown on his head. He’s the winner. In episode 3, while Maxine and BB are discussing wigs for a pageant, Maxine also asks BB, “If you’re going to Winnie Mandela, where will we put the crown?” Both refer to the late ANC politician’s habit of wearing high-stacked headdresses. 

That’s all for now. Time to mince, to Mina Moo, or to mienki. And for all the Beaulah fans out there, you’ll also find Gayle dictionaries everywhere from TikTok, to your local library – hunt down Ken Cage and Moyra Evans’ book, Gayle: The Language of Kinks and Queens: A History and Dictionary of Gay Language in South Africa. Or just ask your local queen for help…and don’t forget to tip.